Complete Story
03/19/2020
PIA's Advocacy Efforts
Families First Coronavirus Response Act
Yesterday the Senate passed and the President signed HR 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, by a vote of 90-8. The bill is referred to as “Phase II” of the legislative response and follows an initial supplemental emergency appropriations bill addressing critical public health concerns (i.e., COVID-19 testing) last week. The law includes employer-related leave provisions including: Emergency FMLA, Emergency Paid Sick Leave, and refundable tax credits for employers required to provide such leave. Please see a fact sheet by Littler law firm here. While some improvements were made to the initial House-passed HR 6201 (such as exempting employers with fewer than 50 employees from providing required leave if it would jeopardize the viability of their businesses and protection from civil FMLA damages in employee-initiated lawsuits), the Senate, unfortunately, did not answer PIA’s call (along with over 100 other trade associations) to replace mandates with a federal emergency fund providing more direct financial assistance to employers.
Phase III (and likely IV) Economic Stimulus
Even before the Phase II was passed, Congress was writing Phase III, which will include direct assistance to individuals and families (the government “checks in the mail”), roughly $250 billion in direct loans for small businesses in order to spur access to capital, and targeted relief for key industries (namely about $50 billion for airlines). This bill is fast-tracked in the Senate, but the process will require serious input from Speaker Pelosi and Senate Democrat Leader Schumer, which is likely to extend consideration of the bill into next week. Specifics of the provisions are still coming together and PIA is closely monitoring developments. Because the list of affected industries is growing beyond airlines, restaurants and hospitality companies, there is almost certain to be a Phase IV stimulus to address other impacted sectors. The timing of Phase IV legislation would likely be in April-May (drafting of the bill will take place almost immediately after passage of Phase III).
PIA has complied a resource page with information specific for the printing industry regarding coronavirus.
